Still a Rose
by singxawayuki
Summary: AU. Oneshot. After being shunned by the village, Jasper finds the girl of his dreams and a simple note. "A rose by any other name is still a rose." Will hard times lead to friendship? Or something more?


_A/N; this is my second ever story that I've posted. Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer; I have no claims over Twilight or any of the characters.**

Oneshot..

"A rose by any other name is still a rose." – Shakespeare

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"They say she is the spawn of the devil himself.." The shadows murmured. She could not get these voices out of her head. She could not stop imagining the way her own family spit on the ground she walked on. And most of all, she could not prevent her tears from falling.

Since the day of her birth, Mary Alice Brandon was blessed with the power of seeing. Nobody had known of her strange gift until a week ago. Was it a week? A day? A month? She could not remember how long she had been sitting in this spot hidden among the trees.

Her sister was her dearest companion. It pained Mary, or Alice, as she preferred, to keep her greatest secret from her sister. She had debated many years whether to tell her or not. One day, she could not help but to blurt it out in front of half the town.

People began gasping in horror, laughing in disbelief, and some even went as far as to throw rotting vegetables at her. The gossip had started almost immediately. Her family had reacted in a way she had not expected. Her sister backed away in horror, while her mother slapped her and announced that she was disowned and did not deserve the Brandon name.

With nowhere to turn, Alice ran off into the forest with tears in her eyes. She ended up slumped under a tree for who knows how long, sobbing herself in and out of sleep.

Soon her sorrow morphed into anger. All her life, Alice believed that her premonitions were a blessing. But now, it seemed like a terrible curse. Why oh why did she have to tell them?! How could she have ever expected those fools to appreciate her? Where would she go now? Questions like these plagued her mind.

An undefined amount of time had passed when she heard footsteps echoing throughout the forest. Terrified, she hid behind a bush and bent over so her form would be as small as possible. She watched the approaching figure through the leaves.

It was a man, and he seemed a year or two older than she. He was running toward the clearing where she was not even a minute ago. Stumbling, he fell to the ground near a tree. His pale hands tore at the blonde locks of hair atop his head in what seemed to be fury. She could hear him faintly muttering to himself.

"Accuse me…insane…am not!" He literally growled the last word. She could not help but feel the fury and sadness radiating from his words, causing her to shiver.

_'He's like me..'_ She realized. _'Alone…I wonder what the wretched gossipers have accused this poor fellow of..' _

Suddenly, he fell on the ground, fainted. Before she realized what she was doing, she was kneeling next to the man, checking his pulse. It was now that she noticed how fatigued he was, as if he had not eaten nor slept in days.

She studied his familiar face, trying to place where she had seen him. Fishing through the pockets of her slightly torn dress, she found a pen and parchment. She felt the need to communicate with this stranger, for she somehow knew that he would play an important role in her future.

_"I stumbled upon your fallen figure in the forest. I have heard that the town has troubled you, and it appears we have that in common. Though I do not know your name, nor do you know mine, I feel drawn to you already.. A rose by any other name is still a rose, after all. I shall be waiting here for the next few days._

_Signed,_

_A rose"_

She scrawled this note and put it in his coat pocket before attempting to pick the man up. Surprisingly, he easily lifted, although the only way she could hold his tall figure was by half dragging him on the floor. She walked in the direction from where he came until she saw an abundance of houses. It was dark already, but the moon shone brightly. Intuitively, she walked towards one of the houses, as if she had known his address by heart.

Leaning his unconscious form against a wall, she took his house key from his pocket and unlocked the door. She picked him back up and set him in his bed.

She knew she should leave, but she couldn't find it in herself to escape his presence. Instead, she settled into a chair and staring at his face, memorizing each characteristic.

How had this stranger, who had entered her life merely an hour ago, captured her heart so completely and unknowingly? Hesitantly, she reached her hand out to his face. As she brushed her fingers against the cool skin of his cheek, his eyes flickered and opened suddenly. Shocking blue eyes stared tiredly at her. She froze for but a second before fleeing out of his house. She did not stop running until she reached the clearing in the forest.

She sat next to the very same tree that the man did. She stared at the stars, and instead of wondering about where she would sleep or worrying about the animals, all she thought of was his eyes. The way they stared at her, piercing her mind and soul. To any other person, this notion would seem like utter hogwash. But to her, it felt like the entire world froze when he looked at her. As a psychic, she strongly believed that everything happened for a reason. She hoped dearly the stranger would come visit her tomorrow.

Her eyes drooped lower and lower, until she fell fast asleep, dreaming of a certain blonde-haired man with haunting blue eyes.

Meanwhile, Alice's stranger was thinking of her as well. In truth, he was only a stranger to her and few others. This man, Jasper Whitlock Hale, was quite a wealthy businessman. His sister knew him as and honest man who had a way with people.

His face was completely composed. But behind his mask, he was thinking. Who was this girl, who left so quickly? Was he imagining things? No, he was sure that she was real. He knew that his mind was not so creative to think of a creature as beautiful as her. Although he only saw her for a second, maybe even less, his thoughts were preoccupied of her.

Jasper remembered running to a forest after hearing the troublesome rumors. The wicked gossipers of the town deemed him as a madman, whose aura frightened people into giving him what he wanted._ 'Rubbish! Utter rubbish.'_ He could feel himself becoming more and more upset by dwelling on this. Forcing himself to calm down, he moved onto what happened next. He stumbled and began talking to himself, the man recalled.

"Oh. I passed out." He realized aloud. _'I should stop this foolery for now and get dressed for bed.'_ His head nodded in agreement with his thoughts absentmindedly.

He took his coat off first, and noticed a parchment fluttering to the ground. Jasper leaned down to pick it up, and settled in a chair, unknowingly sitting in the same spot she did not even half an hour ago, to read it.

As he finished, he nodded absentmindedly again. A rose? Was that her name? Or was she simply using a pun? He decided to go with the latter. Rose did not suit her lovely face.

Another decision was in order. Should he meet her tomorrow? Or should he not? It hardly seemed kind to leave her alone in the forest. And so, Jasper Whitlock Hale was going to meet this mysterious woman.

He finished getting ready for bed and slept, dreaming of this woman who had consumed his thoughts so easily.

**Many hours later..**

Alice was lying under a tree, her long dark hair fanning out underneath her. She slept on her side, hugging her small form tightly. She quickly sat up, her eyes wide awake now. "Jasper.." She breathed out. This name was echoing in her mind, bouncing off the walls of her cranium all night, her tongue itching to say this name. She was sure that this name belonged to the face of her stranger. It suited him well.

She smiled softly, almost eerily. She knew Jasper would come to visit her in this lonely forest. She wondered why no bears or wolves came to eat her in her slumber, but shook off the thought. She smelled her sleeve, knowing she had not washed properly in quite a while. Alice stood, and walked through the trees towards where she knew would be a small lake.

She bathed herself as thoroughly as possible in the cold water before stepping out. Slipping her dress on again, she walked back to her clearing.

She sat patiently. It was only a matter of time until he came.

As soon as Alice had woken up, Jasper found his eyes opening as well. He fixed himself up and ate breakfast for the first time in nearly three weeks.

By the time he had finished, nearly two hours had passed. He was about to leave when a thought occurred to him; he was sure that this poor girl was living in the forest, so what would she eat? How would she survive with winter approaching?

And so he made another decision. He was going to make her a care package.

He found a basket, and lined the bottom with extra blankets he had lying around. He walked happily into town, a stark contrast to those who saw his mood the night before. He bought multiple nonperishable items, ignoring the jeers and whispers of those surrounding him.

His next stop was a dress store, where he bought a simple dress for the maiden he was to meet. This took about another two hours. When he arrived home, he put this all into the basket before setting off into the forest once more.

As he approached the clearing holding this basket, a thought occurred to him. Why didn't he just invite her to live with him? But this would simply make the town gossip more. Having a man and women with no relation living in the same house? Scandalous! He remembered her note from before. If both of them were already shunned, why should they care what people were saying?

He couldn't help but grin as he saw a small form waiting in the center of their clearing.

She saw him at the very same moment, and struggled to stay put. It would not work well if she scared him off. Although her movements were subdued, her eyes sparked with happiness and excitement. His eyes mirrored hers as he reached her sitting form. He sat down in front of her.

Their eyes connected, and silence set in.

"You've kept me waiting a long time." She spoke expectantly.

"I'm sorry, ma'm." He replied with a slight southern twang.

He told her about the basket he brought before extending his offer to share his abode to her.

She kindly accepted.

They exchanged stories, names, and memories.

When he came to her, he was alone.

When he left, she walked beside him.

**The End**

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A/U; well? How was it? (: Click that button down there that says "Review" and you'll get a muffin. Or a cupcake. Whatever you want. XD If you don't understand that whole "Rose" thing, I'll explain it now.. :P

"A rose by any other name is still a rose."

For example..

Just because Alice had her own problems, doesn't mean it changed her in any way. She stayed true to herself and her magical premonition psychic powers, and by doing so, she found a companion..

If it makes sense, then YAY. If it doesn't, ignore it. XD


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